Soup Kitchen

Semester One:

In this Exed we went to the Soup Kitchen every other week on Tuesdays right after classes. Every time we go, our work ranges from helping to cook, clean, to do the dishes, to mop, prepare to go bags, serve, breaking and taking boxes to campus to be recycled and most important, talking to the “clients” when we eat together in the tables. This Exed helped me further connect with the people in our host community and learn more about the Hunger problem in New Mexico. It was interesting to see the different backgrounds in which every single individual in that place came from, including us students. The very first clients I met during the dinner were a single mother with her son with Down Syndrome, whom I can’t recall their names. I remember the lady talking to me about how her son got a letter from Barack Obama on his birthday and how inspiring it was for their family to continue fighting for her son’s condition.

 

Semester Two: For the beginning of my second semester, a challenge I encountered was attendance as the academic school year got busier. However, this challenge was overcome by doing my homework in advance. In this semester there was one particular client I met that marked me because she told me about how she lost her too early in high school. I remember her telling me to enjoy my life while I can. The week after I was happy to hear from one of my peers that she asked for me. In some ways, I like to think that that conversation was as impactful for her as it was for me. In this semester I also got to know more about the women that work with us in the Soup Kitchen and know more about their stories.